No Longer Faceless
by EyeOfTheBlizzard
Summary: You, who would be doomed to the fate of a faceless doll. You have a chance to escape this destiny. Grasp this sword by the hilt and charge forth! Do this and you will walk among legends! Non Root!Sai
1. Chapter 1

Story of 'Sai'jo Atsuki: No Longer Faceless

A boy of twelve awoke abruptly, only to find himself standing upon nothing, in an empty, white void. He twitched in alarm when he realized that he was clad only in his birthday suit. With nothing to cover himself with nor anyone to hide himself from, the boy did not react further.

Just as he was about to take a step, he was interrupted by a voice that boomed in the silence. "_You, who would be doomed to the fate of a faceless doll, devoid of emotion stand before me."_

The boy placed his foot back where it was and remained still, though on guard and on high alert. The voice spoke again, "_You,_ _who are doomed to be a weapon to be pointed at one's foes, have a chance." _The boy quirked one eyebrow in question as a pedestal, black as obsidian, appeared before him. A sword with no defining features to it was embedded at the top.

"_You, and only you, have a chance to escape this destiny. Take this sword by the hilt and raise it to the skies. Shout your name to the heavens!"_

The boy followed the commands of the voice, seeing no reason not to. At the top of the Black Pedestal, he pulled the nondescript sword free as freely as if from its proper sheath. He held it high and shouted to the void, "I am Saijo Atsuki!"

The voice sounded almost pleased. _"You, who have taken the Sword of Fate into your own hands, charge forth and you will walk among legends!"_

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Atsuki awoke with a start, kunai knife in hand. He scanned his bedroom with a critical eye, seeking possible threats within the darkness. An untrained eye would have seen only the blackness of night. An eye trained only in night vision would have seen a sparsely decorated bedroom, which consisted only of the futon Atsuki occupied, a closed closet, a clock that read five thirty, and a writing desk with an open book and a closed book on its surface. There were no writing implements to be seen. These were the Spartan living arrangements of a good Shinobi.

Atsuki was better than that. He saw all of the secret panels and all of the loose floorboards, many of which were rigged with nasty traps and just as many held the wonderful goodies that were Atsuki's possessions. He should, as he was the one who installed all of those things.

Finally satisfied that there was no danger to his person, Atsuki stored his kunai back under his pillow, where it belonged as he lightly bereted himself for reacting so harshly to a dream, even such an odd one. He ran his finger through his short, dark hair in an attempt to mitigate his bed head, with little success.

After he pulled himself out of bed, Atsuki glanced down at himself, relieved that he was, in fact, still wearing his grey boxers. He turned his attention towards the desk, jerking in surprise before remembering that, yes; he did forget to put away his journal last night. IT was turned open to its very first page, the very first entry. Despite himself, Atsuki found himself reading in the dark.

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_Dear Journal,_

_ I am Saijo Atsuki. I am beginning my final year at the Academy. TenTen san gave me this journal, saying that I need to express myself in more than just drawing in the margins of the notes that I don't need. … (There were several splotches of in here as if Atsuki had been debating on what to write next.)_

_ I have short, black hair and black eyes. I like to wear a black jacket left unzipped due to the heat, a blank, skintight undershirt with wire mesh interwoven into the cloth, and black pants that only go down to the ankles so that I don't have to tape the ends shut. I hope to find a way to dull the color to merely a dark grey due to some horror stories I heard of shinobi getting killed because they were darker than the shadows they were hiding in._

_Atsuki_

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Atsuki grinned lightly and decided to pen down a journal entry for yesterday before heading out to do his daily morning exercises and then coming home and showering. After all, he needed to be at Genin Orientation by seven thirty.

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Author's Note

I am back! Hopefully for good this time.

Just in case it isn't totally obvious, Saijo Atsuki is Sai as if he had never become a part of the Ne.

As 'Sai' was just a codename, I felt that it was necessary to give him a name. Hopefully this isn't too different.

Also, this is a working title. I will probably change it later.

Please read and review! Be sure to criticize anything you don't like.

Eye of the Blizzard, over and out!


	2. Chapter 2

Story of 'Sai'jo Atsuki: No Longer Faceless

Chapter 2

Saijo Atsuki returned to his bedroom after taking a shower to wash off the sweat from his early morning run. He already had rice cooking on the stove a room and a half away, so he swiftly pulled on his boxers and grey pants that he would wear for the day before moving to get the rice before it burned. Atsuki took his rice to the small, wooden table in the center of the living room in his one bedroom apartment and began eating.

He took a moment to scan the area, looking for things that were out of place, not that there was much to see for anyone that did not know where to look. There was the kitchen, with all of the appliances one would expect to find in one and nothing more, save a single unwashed pan. There was the table Atsuki was eating at and an additional wooden chair across from him, in case he had a guest. There was another writing desk situated in the corner of the living room that looked so battered and worn that it could have been the veteran of some war. There were three doors: one to his room, one to the bathroom, and one leading outside. No lights were on as Atsuki figured that the sunlight streaming in form the windows provided more than enough illumination. There were also dozens of traps and secret compartments, but Atsuki only gave them a passing glance for now.

Yesterday was an odd day for sure. At Genin Orientation, this year's graduating students of Konoha's shinobi academy were divided into Genin squads consisting of three Genin and one Jounin sensei. Atsuki's classmate, and daresay friend, Tenten, a brunette that tended to wear her hair in buns and liked Chinese clothing, was sorted into Team 9 under Maito Gai, who was apparently _the_ go-to guy for Taijutsu. Her teammates were Hyuuga Neji, the rookie of the Year, a meaningless title, who is an arrogant prick who is always going on about fate, and Rock Lee, the 'official' dead last, if only because he is unable to access his own chakra. Atsuki didn't know whether to feel bad for Tenten, or jealous of her. She will probably end up being the third wheel of the team, ending up only supporting Lee and Neji, but at least they are competent, unlike Team 7.

Team 7 is lead by Hatake Kakashi, who apparently has no respect for timetables as he did not bother to show up until three hours after all of the other teams had left. Of course, he could have been watching his would-be students the entire time just to see how they reacted to his tardiness. Atsuki spent the time drawing, and then later, as he ran out of space to draw, attempting to animate the drawings with chakra and failing miserably. His female teammate, Shiho, was a girl with long, frizzy, blonde hair and wore thick glasses with odd swirl patterns on the lenses. She has no aptitude for any of the physical aspects of the shinobi, but at least she knows that. She stated that she wants to someday be a part of the cryptology department. She spent the three hours reading, until she noticed Atsuki attempting to animate his artwork. She then brainstormed ideas to help him out with no success. Atsuki's male teammate, Shin, the 'true' dead last due his near failing grades despite not having a handicap like Lee, whose only defining feature was his oddly colored gray hair, grew very impatient, very quickly and expressed this very loudly for several minutes, and then he sulked at his terrible fortune. Just as he was about set up a prank for their tardy sensei, Atsuki suggested that Shin should go and bring them all some drinks from the teacher's lounge as it was not likely that there would be anyone there at the time.

`The three Genin had just finished off the drinks that Shin had acquired for them as the door to the classroom opened to reveal Hatake Kakashi, a very tall man dressed in an ordinary Jounin uniform of a flak jacket and jumpsuit. He also wore a matching blue facemask and had his hitai-ate tilted to conceal his left eye. This made his gray hair stand up at nearly gravity defying angles. He gave a glance at the three Genin and stated his opinion of them.

"My first impression of you three is that I don't like you very much. You didn't even get me a drink" he mock-sulked. Shin proceeded to face vault and blamed Atsuki for not telling him to get four drinks.

The black haired boy merely shrugged in response. Shiho chastised Shin by lightly smacking her book against his head. He angrily glared at her.

Kakashi interrupted the silent banter in an authoritative tone, "Alright, you three, meet me up on the roof in five." He then vanished, much to the fascination and/or frustration of the Genin, leaving behind only a few swirling leaves.

Five minutes later, Atsuki finally made his way up to the rooftop with four cans of lemonade in hand only to find himself the recipient of two nasty glares. Shiho and Shin were rather displeased with him taking the full five minutes to actually make his way to the meeting.

It was then that Atsuki found his flashback interrupted by the lack of rice in his bowl. Lightly annoyed by not having enough rice to finish the flashback, he got up and began to wash his bowl and pan. Rather than continuing to remember the events of yesterday, he instead chose to contemplate what would be happening today.

In less than an hour Kakashi's survival exercise would begin unless he decided to be several hours late again. He had suggested not eating breakfast today or the exercise might be so intense that the Genin might throw up. Atsuki did not wish to risk it, especially if Kakashi's tardiness was a regular occurrence, as he was already beginning to suspect. To counter act this, Atsuki had ground up a soldier pill, which supposedly packed such a punch that it allows a shinobi to work for three days without rest or additional nutrients, into the rice he just ate. He had his doubts, but he trusted Tenten, who recommended it.

Atsuki glanced by the door to the apartment and saw the simple katana and the wooden practice sword he had bought at the shinobi weapons store that Tenten works at when he dropped by after the team meeting yesterday. He debated on whether or not the bring to the survival exercise today, before eventually shaking his head and mumbling about weapons he didn't know how to wield and terrible ideas. He made his way back to his room to finish dressing and arming himself.

When Atsuki was dressed, armed, and ready, he made his way out the front door, giving the blade in the corner nary a glance.

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Author's Note

Ch2 already out! Good for me!

I felt that writing out the introduction with Kakashi would be redundant as Saijo already gave a fairly good assessment of his teammates as they were introduced in the flashback.

Also, did you see what I did thar?

Anyway, next chapter is the bell test and you will finally get some action.

Please R&R

Eye of the Blizzard over and out


	3. Chapter 3

No Longer Faceless

Chapter 3

Saijo Atsuki took the scenic route in today's travels towards Training Ground 7 so that he would arrive at exactly seven o'clock. Today, just like yesterday, he was received with harsh glares from his teammates Shiho and Shin for being so close to being late. All three of the Genin were decked out in full combat gear in preparation for the trials and tribulations that would inevitably occur today.

In response to the rather cold greeting, if it could be called that, Atsuki gave an irritated huff and rattled off the shinobi rule that states that a good shinobi shows up on time; no sooner, and no later. Shiho gave an embarrassed blush and mumbled an apology, while Shin just gave an annoyed grunt and plopped himself down next to the center wooden training post. The blonde girl settled down next to the post to Shin's left as her face shifted into a peaceful expression that showed some amount of clear anticipation. Atsuki elected to perch atop the remaining post in order to gaze out at the surrounding area.

The large training posts were situated in the center of a large clearing, surrounded for the most part by woods. There was a large stream that cut through the area several dozen meters away from the Genin. Several meters behind them sat a large crystalline rock, with dozens, if not hundreds of names inscribed onto its surface. It was clearly a memorial stone, a tribute to all of the brave shinobi that perished in the service of Konoha.

A cool breeze rippled through the grass, a rarity considering the season, just as Shin grew annoyed enough with the silence to speak up. "I heard some nasty stuff about this Kakashi guy, asides from his eternal tardiness." The only response he got was a clear shifting of attention towards him, so he continued, "I heard that this guy has been an elite Jounin for nearly a decade, but hasn't taken on a Genin squad yet."

This got a much more pronounced reaction as Atsuki actually turned on his perch in order to look at Shin face to face, and Shiho piped up, "An Elite Jounin, think of what an opportunity this is! A chance to be taught by a master!"

Atsuki cut off her celebration very quickly. "Ten years? But don't the Elites have to take in a Genin squad? Ten years without would mean…"

"Ten years of Genin sent back to the remedial class," Shin finished.

"But, but, he said, the test was-"

Atsuki cut her off. "Only a thirty three percent chance of passing? He probably lied about it. Given that we're dealing with the guy responsible for a full generation of remedial students, he's probably going to give us some kind of Impossible Task."

"I wouldn't call the Bell Test impossible, Saijo," Kakashi remarked from behind said boy, who jumped in surprise and fell off his perch but caught himself in the landing, and was immediately on guard, with kunai in hand. Privately, Kakashi applauded the boy for stopping himself from throwing the knife in what would clearly be an instinctive reaction. Atsuki's intense reaction caused the other two would-be Genin from remembering to chastise Kakashi for his tardiness, even though he was a full four hours late this time.

Kakashi immediately went about clarifying the parameters of the Bell Test. He placed an alarm clock on Atsuki's former perch. "You have until noon to take one of these," he pulled out two bells from his flak jacket and attached them to the equipment pouch at his hip. "If you do not have one by noon then you fail. None of you are allowed to eat until the test is over, by the way." He said this is the most evil, yet cheerful tone that Shiho and Shin had ever heard.

At this, two stomachs, growled viciously, and the owners of said stomachs glared just as viciously at the owner of the third. No other action could be taken as Kakashi has set the timer and announced the beginning of the survival exercise.

Atsuki glanced at both of his teammates only to blanch when he saw that neither of the two was still at his side. _"Are they stupid? This guy is a Jounin! Our only shot at this was to do the most unexpected thing ever: an immediate full frontal assault from all three of us! This guy is too good for any one of us to beat, or even all of us together. This is Day One, our teamwork is obviously shitty."_ He glared at Kakashi, who had apparently been lecturing him about being out in the open. _"This guy has his full focus on me, or at least enough of it so that it would be impossible to drop off the radar for even a moment at this rate!" _Atsuki only had one move in his, in hindsight, rather pitiful arsenal, that would give him so much as a chance of creating some distance.

The boy proceeded, much to both of his hidden teammate's dismay, to charge headfirst towards Kakashi, clearly going for a frontal assault with kunai in hand. The older man gave a rather disappointed sigh as he reached into his equipment pouch for a… book?

Atsuki continued, undaunted and without so much as stutter stepping, until he was just outside of punching distance of his sensei. He feinted to the left but went right, attempting to strike at the artery at Kakashi's shoulder. Or so everyone thought. The one eyed man elbowed Atsuki in the face only for him to pass straight through. It was a Bushin, an incorporeal Clone.

The real Atsuki had gone left, his eyes wide in surprise, "_Holy shit, he fell for it, the Clone Superimposition!"_ If possible, his eyes widened further, "_The bells are right there. I could…"_

Kakashi however, noticed immediately and proceeded to roundhouse kick Atsuki in the gut, sending him careening several meters away into a nearby training post. His head cracked loudly against the wood, and the kid collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. The masked man walked up to examine the boy, making sure he was merely unconscious and not dead. After finding a pulse, Kakashi kneeled down to fish one of his bells out of the grass, he silently resolved himself to redouble his training. He must really have grown dull to have almost missed such a rookie trick.

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Atsuki groaned as he began to return to the land of the living. His thoughts were muddled and he had a killer headache stemming from the back of his head. He had had a concussion. He felt something next to him jump in alarm and heard, "Oh you're awake!" It was a familiar female voice, Shiho, his mind clarified.

Atsuki's eyes fluttered open as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He stretched his sore muscles and gave a pointed glance at the girl next to him, who appeared rather beaten up, clearly asking for her to explain what had happened since his depart from consciousness.

After a moment, she got the point and straightened to attention and began explaining. "After Kakashi knocked you out, Saijo, you almost got a bell all by yourself, you know that-"She cut herself off and got back on topic after a sharp glare from the boy next to her. "Kakashi checked your pulse, replaced his bell, and began targeting me. I was trapped in some sort of Genjutsu loop. I was trying to be elusive and find Shin while keeping away from sensei since I'm not too good when it comes to straight out combat, you know." She paused, taking a breath to calm herself the memory of what had probably been a fairly traumatic illusion. "I don't know what happened to Shin and he refused to tell me. After Kakashi released me from the genjutsu, he tied Shin to one of the posts and waited for you to wake up. I guess he got bored after a while since you weren't waking up and none of us had any smelling salts with us. He cut Shin down from the post and began lecturing us on all the reasons we failed his test, mostly teamwork, or our lack thereof." Atsuki just glared at her like that had been obvious from the very start.

Shiho gave a very annoyed huff and demanded that Atsuki explain how it had been so obvious. The boy in question just replied that Kakashi was a Jounin as if that answered the question, and in hindsight, it did. There was no way a greenhorn Genin could defeat a shinobi as experienced as Kakashi all on their own. Shiho sighed at the depressing thought.

"We're being sent to the Remedial Class, Saijo!" She moaned. Atsuki asked where Shin was, clearly wanting to change topics.

"When Kakashi finished lecturing us, I think he ran off to go sulk. He tried so hard just to pass the Genin Exam, only to get stopped cold here…" Shiho trailed off.

Atsuki finally made to stand up and Shiho scrambled to steady him when he began wobbling. "Hey Shiho, do you mind helping me get home? I might still be concussed, I think." She nodded an affirmative, blushing lightly. He didn't know whether it was due to the relative intimacy of the request considering how little they knew of each other, or due to her close proximity to his person.

"I-I don't know where your place is, besides shouldn't you go to the hospital for that?"

"I think I can walk, just make sure I don't keel over or something. I got some medicine at my place; I don't need to bother our hospital with a simple concussion anyway," Atsuki assured her.

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Sure enough, by the time the two Genin made it to Atsuki's apartment, Shiho was carrying the majority of Atsuki's weight. He fiddled with the key for nearly half a minute before the blonde girl took from him and swiftly unlocked the door.

Atsuki staggered as quickly as he could away from Shiho and plopped down onto the desk in the main room, heedless of any of the three chairs. He was clearly ashamed at needing to have been virtually carried to his home. The girl rolled her eyes and asked him where he kept the pain killers. He gestured at the cabinet to the right of the refrigerator.

Roughly a minute later she returned with the pills, a glass of water, a damp washcloth, and some ice. After downing the pills and water, Atsuki held his hand out for the ice. Shiho rolled her eyes again in exasperation and insisted that she look at the damage. She stood behind him and pulled several splinters out of his hair though when she brushed her fingers against the bruised area she found no blood. Atsuki however, winced and shot her what would otherwise be a menacing glare. Satisfied with her work, Shiho wrapped the cloth around Saijo's head and put the bag of ice in place; she then wrapped the cloth around again and tied it off so the bag would stay in place.

Done with her work, the bespectacled girl stepped over to the table and pulled the closes chair around so that she could stare smugly at Atsuki.

` Immediately the boy asked the one thing that could wipe the smug off of her face in an instant. "So when do remedial classes start anyway?"

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Author's Note

Why do I feel like I'm using too many commas? The way I've structured the sentences, I think that most of those commas are actually necessary. It's still a lot of commas.

Finally, some dialogue, a touch of action, and the beginning of a friendship! Not a romance, I promise!

So come to think of it, I think that this fic spawns from the fact that in most of the fics when Naruto isn't a part of the Rookie Nine, authors just randomly, or with a paper thin excuse, throw Sai in there to replace him despite the fact that non-Root Sai is old enough to have graduated in Team Gai's class. Also they tend to make him totally identical to Root Sai due to the fact that he is just there to round out the Rookie Nine, despite that that is totally unrealistic since the Root conditioning constructed the grand majority of Sai's personality, or lack thereof. As you can see, these first few chapters are more about defining several aspects of his personality than of plot progression. There are already several responses that are quickly becoming standard for Atsuki.

Minirant over.

Please R&R, Signed Eye of the Blizzard, over and out.


	4. Chapter 4

No Longer Faceless

Chapter 4

"So where are we headed again?" Shiho asked Atsuki. The pair of Genin was walking through Konoha's red light district in broad daylight and the blonde girl was obviously less than comfortable with this.

The boy nearly sighed in annoyance; this was clearly not the first occurrence of this line of thought. "We're headed to a big, wooden, warehouse. It should be near here, and pretty easy to find since nearly everything else here is closing for the daylight hours."

"Do you think Shin is already there? We never did manage to find him after we found out about this." Atsuki give her a look that clearly stated that he didn't know, but then he sighed when Shiho continued to speak, "This is our one shot to escape the remedial class! This is where they test us to see if we can enter into the apprenticeship program! Think about it, learning under an expert!"

Atsuki cut her off before she could get lost in her fantasies of easy success. "We have to pass the test first, you know."

"I know that!" She then puffed herself up in pride, "I know I have what it takes to get into cryptology!"

"Except actual experience." Atsuki quipped, knowing that they don't teach any major cryptology at the Academy and that any tools to learn about it are above Shiho's security clearance level, or at least it had been back when they were still academy students. "Perhaps you could get apprenticed under a librarian."

By the time Atsuki had finished, Shiho's cheeks were puffed and her face was red with anger. "Stop that! You're so mean!" She began swatting at him with her fists.

The boy blinked in confusion. "Shiho, becoming an aide at the Shinobi Archives would be a very good thing for you."

The girl took off her glasses to clean the lenses; clearly a calming exercise. "I know that, but you say it like it's an insult, Saijo. Besides, I'm trying to pump myself up for this and you just keep cutting me down every time." Her voice wavered here, and it showed just how nervous she really was.

"Sorry," Atsuki apologized in a rather bland tone.

Shiho instantly began swatting at the boy beside her again. "Stop that! You say it like it doesn't mean anything!" Atsuki responded by apologizing again in the same exact tone. The girl sighed in exasperation and the decided to change the subject. "What about you? What does Saijo Atsuki want to be when he grows up?" she asked in an airy, taunting tone.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Something that would allow me to learn how to animate my art would be cool, but that's just a hobby. Going into kenjutsu would be good. I've been meaning to start practicing lately."

Shiho cut in. "Oh yeah, I was going to ask you about that sword you keep at your place! You never bring it with you anywhere. So it's just cause you don't actually know how to use it?"

Atsuki resisted the urge to glare at the bespectacled girl as she was merely going out of her way to irritate him now. He continued talking as as though he hadn't been interrupted. "Going into genjutsu would also be interesting…"

"Oh, that's rare. Hardly anyone goes into genjutsu anymore. Something about too many people taking preventive measures against it, I think."

The boy stopped to lean against the wooden wall as they had arrived at their destination. "I don't know I just like the idea of having my foe think he was completely outclassing me, only for me to be choreographing the entire show in reality."

Shiho cringed. "That sounds so evil. " She took a calming breath. "Well, we're here."

"Let's get this over with."

They entered the wooden warehouse only to find themselves in a room that was no larger than a classroom with ornately carved doors in each wall. In the room were fifteen of their former classmates and six Chunin in uniform. Shin was not present.

One of the Chunin spoke; clearly he was annoyed at the absence of a Genin. "The seventeen of you have a chance to enter into an apprenticeship. You do not get to choose who your master will be. Do not complain if you are not selected as an apprentice. This exam will be taken six at a time. One of us will escort you to one of the starting points. Your objective is to take the password given to you at the starting point at take it to one of the six Chunin stationed on the course. You will then be returned here and your performance evaluated. One of the Jounin may then decide to take you on as an apprentice."

Atsuki nodded at Shiho she was escorted to the door opposite to the one that they entered. A Chunin wearing a bandage across his nose, spiked black hair and stubble on his chin introduced himself. "I am Proctor Hagane Kotetsu. Please follow me." He escorted Atsuki to the door on the right.

Beyond the door, there was a hallway outlining the perimeter of the warehouse. Atsuki was led past two corners and was stopped at a door was directly opposite to the one Shiho entered all the way on the other side of the building.

The proctor stood in front of the door and began speaking. "You have one hour once you enter. Find one of us and tell him that 'everything was burned by the midnight sun." Atsuki nodded, and stepped through the door as it was opened.

Hearing the door shut behind him, Atsuki set to examining the area. There were wood, oak, lots of it. All of it was engraved with intricate patterns. At first glance Atsuki found himself in a wooden hallway that lasted for roughly ten meters and then ended with a staircase. At second glance, Atsuki noticed that the patterns were there to obscure the existence of traps, dozens of them.

Atsuki threw a handful of shuriken into the darkness in order to prematurely set off several of the wire based traps. This released dozens of senbon, shuriken, and kunai; none of which caused any damaged to Atsuki. Also, several floorboards fell away to reveal a pitfall lined with sharpened bamboo. The Genin took this opportunity to swap out his equipment with that which was used in the trap, seeing as they were made of higher quality material than the cheap stuff that he could afford as a mere academy student.

Just as he finished reorganizing his equipment, Atsuki's instincts went haywire. He grabbed a nearby kunai out of the wall and slashed it at the thing that he did not hear, but _knew _was behind him. The boy glanced at his victim, half expecting to see the corpse of a fellow Genin. He nearly sighed in relief when all he saw was just a spider.

Atsuki shrugged and turned around only for what he had seen to hit him. That was a spider. A spider big enough to need to be killed by a kunai, and one dangerous enough to attack a human as if it was prey. He looked at the spider again. Yep, the damn thing was larger than a housecat. He stepped over the corpse of the spider to look down into the pitfall trap. The bamboo was no longer there, and trap looked to be nearly twice as deep as it was a few moments ago. Several more spiders were crawling up the walls of the trap.

This is a test, so encountering living resistance is the same as progress, right? Atsuki nodded to himself and threw an explosive note down into the hole. After the boom, Atsuki dropped down, kunai at the ready. Using the debris from the explosion and a flint, he created a small fire so that he could see. Taking in his surroundings, he twitched in surprise. A hand carved, stone tunnel, not dirt like he had been expecting. Assured that he had not entered a place that the proctors did expect him to be able to go to, Atsuki pressed on, torch and kunai in hand. His spider kill count was already in the double digits, not counting those that had died from the explosion.

In an indeterminate distance later, due to constant onslaught of giant spiders, Atsuki ran into a roadblock: a stone wall. Taking a moment to ensure that he had indeed killed all of the spiders in the area, he inspected the wall. It was made of stone and covered in webbing. There was a small hole at about the eye level of an adult male. Atsuki was no longer sure he was supposed to be here as this place looked rather abandoned, but the thought of turning back was even more depressing. He pulled one more explosive tag out of his equipment pouch and made ready to bust through.

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The Observation Deck was in a panic. One of the Genin had broken into the old system of tunnels that had been abandoned shortly after the First Great Shinobi War, when the walls surrounding Konoha had been erected and the tunnel began collapsing in places. Apparently, they had been a nesting ground for the kind of spiders one would usually find in Training Ground 44: the Forest of Death. These spiders have now been unleashed on a warehouse full of unsuspecting Genin all due to the efforts of one overly suspicious Genin.

The kid had made his way into the tunnels, apparently convinced that this was just part of the test. A squad of Chunin were hastily sent after him for his own safety. After all, a queen of this particular breed of spider could grow to be as large as a house, not to mention the corrosive properties of its venom, and its territorial nature. Many other squads of Chunin were assigned to round up the rest of the Genin.

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Atsuki was beginning to grow very worried. If blowing up this last wall didn't lead him to an exit, he would only have one exploding tag left. Also, the constant stream of spiders the he had been beginning to grow used to had suddenly ceased. At least he had managed to avoid being wounded thus far.

Making way through the crater he had put into the wall, Atsuki only just barely managed to throw himself out of the way of _something_ taking a swipe at him. Stumbling to his feet, he hastily threw a brace of shuriken at the thing. Sensing danger, he rolled out of the way of a giant glob of webbing that was shot at him. He heard his weapons clatter to the stone floor, obviously having caused no damage.

Atsuki finally managed to pull himself together so that he could take a look at the creature. He flinched when he saw the mother of all spiders. It had to be at least a full ten meters tall. Its legs had orange hair, and each strand appeared sharp enough to draw blood. It had at least eight milky white eyes, showing its age and blindness. Its fangs were nearly two meters long and as thick as an arm. They dripped with corrosive brown venom. The Spider Queen howled ferociously at the intrusion of its lair, and attempted, of all things, to stomp Atsuki into the dust.

As the Genin scrambled around the chamber, avoiding certain death with every step, he noticed that this room, unlike the tunnel, was lit with torches at about eye level to the monster. The chamber was enormous, easily as big as a coliseum and it was littered with bones, some them human. There was also no exit as the entrance Atsuki had created had been blocked with sticky webbing that would be impossible to break until he could focus his full attention on it.

Atsuki quickly realized that his weapons were no good against this foe as they just bounced right off of its carapace. He only had one shot. His last explosive tag. Atsuki had to place it on the underside of the Spider Queen's abdomen.

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Author's Note

Aaaaand cut! I like this chapter despite the fillerness of it. Inspired by many spider based bosses in video games.

So I suppose this is an attempt to explain the difference between an apprentice and a genin squad. As you might have already guessed, Saijo doesn't have anything in his arsenal outside of things that are taught in the academy. Already, such a toolbox feels woefully inadequate.

Please R&R Eye of the Blizzard, signing out!


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